Assassination of a High School President
by thethirdtroll
Summary: Our crime fighting investigative duo is now in high school and are recruited to help the police investigate the biggest crime to ever take place at X High. A Murder.
1. Act I

Disclaimer: I do not own Fillmore (if I did the show would still be going) nor am I making any profit off of this fiction other than my own mental happiness. Enjoy the story.

**Assassination of a High School President**

_A Fillmore Fan Fiction_

**Act 1: A Leader Falls**

"You owe me Fillmore." A dripping Ingrid spat at her partner.

"Hey at least Bruno here took the brunt of the hit. Let's get him back to HQ so we can go home."

The two escorted the sulking young man back towards the safety patrol headquarters leaving behind the busted cartons and large puddle of milk behind.

* * *

"The cafeteria milk shipment Fillmore? A full week's worth of milk for a school this size and you manage to destroy it in a minute. Do you know how much that is going to cost to replace?" Vallejo yelled.

"Hey Vallejo, no point in crying over spilled milk." Fillmore said coolly.

"I should put you on permanent desk duty. In fact, you two are going to be on desk duty until I say otherwise."

"But-"Ingrid started.

"If I hear one more word out of either of you, you'll be off the force."

"B-" Ingrid started again but Vallejo glared at her challenging her to keep going.

They exited Fillmore slamming the door behind him muffling the sound of falling picture frames and Vallejo's following yell of "Fillmore!"

"Desk duty." Fillmore sighed.

"At least you don't have milk everywhere. Ug it's even seeped into my new boots. I just got these not too long ago." Ingrid complained from where she was ringing out her hair.

"You head home Ingrid, I'll finish filing the report on Bruno before I leave."

"Ok. See you tomorrow Fillmore."

"See ya."

Not much had changed for the pair since they first became partners in 7th grade. They had continued to be partners after moving up to the X High School division of the Safety Patrol and had continued to prove they were the best. They refused to work with other partners unless they absolutely had to. They had proved that point during the brief period that Vallejo had been replaced by a new Commishiner and the new guy had tried to reassign partners.

Fillmore and Ingrid had told him in no uncertin terms that they were either partners or they weren't on the force. When Vallejo had returned, he had been properly horrified at the idea when he heard about it.

Fillmore finished typing up the report on Bruno and his forged sick note scam and filed it before packing up to go home.

He was just about to sit down for dinner with his parents when the phone rang. He moved to answer it, his parents had long ago accepted that he was always on call with the Safety Patrol and had stopped commenting on it.

"Fillmore's." he said simply as he picked up the phone.

"Fillmore, we need you to come down to the school right now. Derek Edwards body was just found in the auditorium."

* * *

Ingrid and Fillmore slipped under the yellow tape that covered the doors to the auditorium flashing their badges at the guard at the door. Most Safety Patrollers knew them by site but X High School had a large force that was always getting new members.

"So what have we got?" Ingrid asked Vallejo who was standing by a young woman.

"This is Sara McEllen. She's the one who found the body. She was on her way to set up for the press conference that was going to take place tomorrow. The Student Body President was supposed to speak on what measures we are taking to ensure that this year's prom will be secure from any dangers that last years suffered."

"Uh huh. So what happened?" Ingrid asked the girl.

"Well I came in and noticed that all the lights were off which was weird because Derek had mentioned that he was going to be here when I got here because he wanted to make sure that the powerpoint worked. I talked to him only about fifteen minutes before I got here. I walked in and it was dark so I switched on the lights. I noticed Derek's backpack in front of the stage and figured maybe he just ran to the bathroom or something. So I went to put the pamplets backstage and I found him laying there by the control pannel. I shook him to wake him up and then noticed the blood on the floor. I called the nurse and now here we are."

"How did he die? Did the nurse say?" Fillmore asked.

Tehama sidled up to them. "Cause of Death was a stab wound to the chest just below the left pectoral muscle. We found the knife but there were no prints on the knife."

"So we are dealing with a murder? Did Derek have any enemies that you know of?"

"No. He was a well loved president. He was a member of Student Council, he talked to just about everyone. He was known to visit different clubs. He was very liked."

"No one had a grudge against him?"

"Not that I can think of. Even his running mates weren't upset he won."

"You said you talked to him before you came right?" Ingrid asked.

"Yes. I called his cell phone."

"Is the record on your phone of what time you talked to him?" Fillmore asked.

"I think so. Here." She handed him her phone.

Fillmore flipped it open and checked the history. The call to Derek was made at 6:27pm, the call to the nurse went out at 6:54pm. Somewhere in those twenty seven minutes, Derek was stabbed."

Fillmore handed Ingrid the phone. Ingrid scanned through the history to make sure he didn't miss anything before handing it back to Sara.

"Thank you for your time."

The duo looked around for clues they might have missed. "So where should we start?"

"Let's go see what we can find out about Derek." Ingrid said leading the way to back to Safety Patrol HQ.

* * *

"Let's see. Derek Edwards. Age 17. Voted School president at the beginning of the school year. Won 76 to 24. Member of Student council for three years. Student Council president last year, Senator year before that. Volunteers at the Happy Days After School center. Member of Nature's Friends, the Pottery Posse, Volunteers for the Drama department, member of the zoology club. No disicpline problems."

"So where should we start?" Fillmore asked again.

"Let's go talk to his parents."

They arrived to find the police already there. They went up to the door and knocked. A middle aged man answered the door, he looked like he had been crying as he looked at the two teens. "What can I do for you kids?"

"I'm Safety Patrol Officer Cornilius Fillmore this is my partner Ingrid Third. We're investigating the murder of your son Derek. May we ask you a few questions?"

"Of course come in." He moved aside to allow them entrance.

He led them into the living room where his wife was speaking to one of the officers. "Honey, these kids are Safety Patrol Officers from the school and want to ask us some questions."

She looked at the pair with haunted eyes. "Why are you investigating? We have police for that."

"Yes ma'am. But the more people investigating, the more likely we are to find out who did it." Ingrid said polietly.

The officer looked at the pair. "They are the best the school has. We regularlly watch the Safety Patrol Kids to see who would make good officers. These two are the best of those and hopefully one day the best on the force."

"Thanks." Fillmore said simply. "Now then. When was the last time you spoke to Derek?"

"Afterschool today. He called to tell us that he was going to work on his speech for tomorrow morning." Mr. Edwards answered quickly.

"Did he ever get any threats or mention anyone acting hostile towards him?"

"No. He only ever got people here to thank him and just spend time with him. He never said that anyone was ever hostile or even rude to him. He spent most of his time at school and with his girlfriend." This was from Mrs. Edwards.

"What was his girlfriend like?" Fillmore asked her.

"Oh Liz was wonderful. She's very pretty. She was always polite, never rude, she cared a lot for our Derek. She always came over to check on him when he was sick. She would come over here and help me bake for the school bake sales, she'd sit with Derek helping him with his history, he was horrible at it, and they'd watch tv together some nights. She is a wonderful young lady."

"Were there ever any fights between them?"

"None that I know of. They were inseperable usually."

Fillmore and Ingrid glanced at each other silently making sure neither had more questions. "Thank you for your time Ma'am. If you think of anything that can help us with our investigation please give us a call." Fillmore handed her a card and he and Ingrid turned to leave.

As they were headed toward Ingrid's house, they talked of the case.

"Any ideas on where we should start tomorrow?" Ingrid asked.

"I'd like to ask the girlfriend a few questions. Mrs. Edwards said that they were inseperable at times so she would know if he was having any arguments with anyone."

They reached Ingrid's house and she took out her keys. "So I'll see you at the corner at six tomorrow?"

"Of course. Then we can go through the files on the girlfriend before we start asking her questions. Who ever thought that there would be a murder at X of all places?"

"I don't know but we are going to find out. Night Fillmore."

"Night."


	2. Act II

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thank you to my reviewers. I appreciate it. I really do. This is my first Fillmore fic. And now for Act II.

* * *

ACT II: Perfect President?

Fillmore and Ingrid entered the cafeteria, eyes already scanning the crowd for one Lizbeth Martin. They had checked her file upon starting their shift at six thirty that morning and now had a picture to go with the name.

The cafeteria was eerily quiet. The speed of rumors at X was incredible so it was no surprise that such a solemn almost grim atmosphere had settled on the student body. Everyone knew by now what had happened, everyone knew of the blood that had been spilt in the halls of X High.

Fillmore spotted Lizbeth at a corner table and pointed her out to Ingrid. They headed towards the crying red head that was in the center of a group of girls.

"Lizbeth Martin?" Ingrid asked.

"Yes. Who are you?" she asked shakily.

"I'm Ingrid Third, this is my partner Cornelius Fillmore. We're safety patrol officers. We are investigating the murder of Derek Edwards. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Ingrid informed flashing her badge.

"O-Ok. W-What would y-you like to know?" Liz stuttered as she tried to stop her tears.

"How long have you known Derek?" Fillmore asked.

"Since I moved here in the sixth grade. I live just down the street from the Edwards." She said sniffling a bit as she finally stopped crying.

"Did anyone seem to have a grudge against Derek?" Ingrid asked.

"Not that I could think of. The only person I've ever seen Derek fight with was Leroy. That was about two weeks ago. Last I heard though they were over it."

"Leroy?" Ingrid questioned.

"Leroy Banks. He's running for student council president. Derek held the post last year and school rules dictate that the student council president and the student body president can't be the same person. Since Derek was popular in student council, Leroy asked Derek to support him for the post. Derek refused and they had this big fight."

"When was the last time you saw Derek?"

"Sometime yesterday. We haven't been seeing each other a lot lately. He's been so busy with the preparations for prom that we haven't really been together much."

Ingrid nodded. "Thank you for your time."

"Fillmore! Third!" Vallejo yelled as they walked into headquarters.

Both heads turned towards his office.

"Folsom wants to see you in her office now!" he yelled.

Both sighed and headed towards the principals office. Folsom and Raycliff had been moved up to the High School division of X just after Ingrid and Fillmore's first month of High School. Vallejo had resigned himself to hearing her threaten the Safety Patrol for the rest of his school term after he heard the news.

They entered the office and sat in the chairs before her desk.

"Ingrid, Fillmore." Folsom greeted with false cheer in her voice.

"Principal Folsom." Fillmore greeted for them both.

"Yesterday was a sad day for X. A murder has never before happened at X. Do you know what I said when I heard?"

"No ma'am." Ingrid answered quietly knowing Folsom would tell them either way.

"Put Fillmore and Third on the case. Do you know why? Because you are the best. Now this whole thing is getting my school bad publicity. I don't like bad publicity. So I want you to have these." She handed them each a platinum pass to allow them out of school when necessary for the investigation.

"I want you to work with the Police Officers that are investigating the murder and get this solved."

"Who will we need to talk to?"

"Raycliff the names!"

"Officers John Sampson and Dean Roberts." Raycliff responded in his normal monotone voice.

"Now then. The press conference about safety for prom at X High has been postponed for three o'clock Friday. You have until then to wrap up this investigation or I will turn the safety patrol headquarters into a new teachers lounge." She yelled.

* * *

"Well a little more than 48hrs to solve the case. She must be being lenient because it's a murder. That's the most time we've had since middle school." Ingrid commented once they were out the door. "So what now?"

"Now we pay our boy Leroy a visit." Fillmore replied.

"I hate it when they run." Fillmore commented as they chased the hooded figure through the halls of X. They had arrived at the student council office where they were told they could find Leroy when the hooded figure started to run. They caught him when Ingrid rolled the Lumberjack Club's record log under his feet.

Fillmore knocked the hood off. "Leroy Banks." He commented noticing the identity of their hooded figure.

Once they had him in the interrogation room, they began questioning him. "Why'd you run Leroy?"

"I was scared alright. Yes I did it. Happy. I ran because I didn't want to serve detention." He said looking ashamed.

Fillmore and Ingrid looked at each other.

"You're going to get more than detention for this man. This is murder we're talking about Leroy. You had such a future, why would you risk it all like that?" Fillmore asked.

"Murder? What? I didn't kill anyone. Is that what you think? No. I was trying to rig the Student Council Election! I wouldn't kill anyone!" Leroy looked horrified.

The two officers looked at each other. "We were just coming to question you about the fight you had with Derek a few weeks ago."

"Oh. Well what would you like to know officers. I was horrified to learn what had happened. He was a good guy."

"What was your fight about?"

"That? Oh I got mad cause I wanted him to help me become Student Council president but he said no."

"And do you resent him for that?" Ingrid asked.

"No. I respect him more than anything. Obviously he knew I wasn't ready for the position. If I was, I wouldn't have needed his help and I certainly wouldn't have even thought of rigging the election. No Derek pointed out that before I could be Student Council President, I had to be president of a few other clubs first. I was upset for a while but he was right so I accepted it."

"Do you know of anyone else that would have a grudge with him?"

"No Officers. I can't think of anyone."

"We'll send someone in to get your confession of the rigging of the election in a few minutes. Thank you for your time." Fillmore said simply.

"You know. I'm getting tired of hearing what a great guy this Derek was." Fillmore stated as they moved to their desks.

"I know what you mean. It seems like the first murder at X High is of Mr. Perfect."

"Hey you guys, I got it!" O'Ferrell yelled as he walked in the door.

Fillmore's eyebrow went up questioningly.

"He was murdered by a ghost! That's why there's no suspects!"

"O'Ferrell there is no such things as ghosts." Fillmore said as he drank from his mug of hot chocolate.

Danny looked crushed at the dismissal of his idea.

Fillmore looked at Ingrid. "Maybe we should head over to Police Headquarters to see what they know."

"Yeah lets go."


	3. Act III

Authors Notes: Thank you for your patience. I really appreciate it. Here is the final part. Please let me know what you think

Disclaimer, see first chapter.

* * *

ACT III: Rise of Shame

"So What did you learn at the police station?" Vallejo asked the duo as they reentered Headquarters just after school ended.

"Quite a bit actually. The crime scene had no real clues but the knife and the victim himself. What they learned fromthat though is what is interesting. The Knife was traced back to Berties Knife Shoppe in 

New Jersey. It was a special order knife with a unique registration code. The interesting thing is that the Knife was a gift to one Derek Edwards for his election to the office of the Student Body President." Ingrid filled Vallejo in as Fillmore got them both Hot Chocolate.

"So Derek stabbed himself?" Vallejo asked confused.

"No." Fillmore said as he handed Ingrid her mug. "The other thing we learned was from the wound itself. Derek was left handed so for him to have stabbed himself under the left pectoral muscle would have been difficult and unlikely because of that. The other notable thing is that the wound is in the front of his body so the killer had to be someone he knew and would let close to him."

"So we still don't have any suspects?" Vallejo asked sighing in defeat.

"Actually we do. It had to be someone with reason to be at the school or near Derek before the press conference. That limits it down from the thousands of kids at X to maybe a hundred or so." Ingrid said before heading towards Tehama to recruit the girl to help her get information on the clubs Derek had been in.

Vallejo looked at Fillmore. "You better get to it. You have forty two hours before Fulsome disbands the safety patrol and we are all in hot water."

* * *

"So who is next on the list?" Fillmore asked after they spoke to the 38th person that was in one of Derek's clubs. They were spending every spare minute interviewing people and were now skipping lunch to get as many people in as possible.

"A Roger Miller, member of the Student Council for three years." Ingrid replied after stopping to call up the list in her photographic memory.

They headed down the halls listening to the idle chatter about Prom and what would be worn, who was going with who, and other seemingly insignificant details. They passed the booth that was selling tickets to Prom. Fillmore did a double take as he noticed O'Ferrell in line behind Joseph Anza and Lizbeth Martin waiting to buy a their tickets to the long anticipated event.

Ingrid shook her head and lead the way to the far side of the room where Roger sat. After a few minutes of questioning, Ingrid mentally crossed Roger off the list. He had an almost reverent tone when he spoke of Derek as if he was the President of the United States as opposed to just X High.

"Thank you for your time Roger." Fillmore said before turning and leading Ingrid out of the Student Council Office. So how many more are on the list?"

"That's 39 down 84 to go."

* * *

"132 people interviewed and we still have no idea who the suspect is." Ingrid commented as she leaned back in Fillmore's desk chair.

"Should we go over the details again?" Fillmore asked from where he sat on the floor his back resting against his bed.

"I don't think it would help. We have till tomorrow at three to get this solved or all of us are going to be looking for something to do with our spare time because we won't be Safety Patrollers anymore."

Fillmore let his head fall back to rest on the bed. He knew they had to figure something out but what should they do next. "Maybe we should go over the crime scene again tomorrow. Not much else we can do tonight."

Just then his bedroom door opened and Fillmore's mom stuck her head in. "Ingrid, did you want to stay for dinner tonight. Then Trenton can drive you home. I don't want you walking home as long as this murderer is loose."

"Sure Mrs. Fillmore, let me just call my dad and let him know."

* * *

"See anything yet?" Ingrid asked as she scanned the now ribboned off area. The only difference between this and one of their regular crime scenes was the real police tape and the blood. Fillmore was searching closer to where the body was found while Ingrid was searching where Derek's belongings were found.

"Not ye-" he trailed off as he spotted something. "Disco. Ingrid, bring one of those evidence bags over here, I've found something."

Ingrid came over with a bag and a pair of rubber gloves. "What is it?"

"It looks like a girl's earring."

Ingrid picked up the delicate gold earring with her gloved hand and deposited it in a evidence bag. "This is right by where his body fell. Lets go check the lost and found to see who might have lost an earring matching this description."

* * *

"Lets see, an earring you say. Let me just pull it up. Ah yes. Three entries for earrings. A Susie Smith is looking for a clover shaped earing, a Jackie West is looking for a pink dangle earring and a Lizbeth Martin is looking for a gold earring." The clerk handling the lost and found informed.

"That doesn't make sense. Liz mentioned that she had seen him that day but not anytime near when he was setting up for the press confrence." Fillmore said as they sat at their desks.

"I've got it!"O Ferrell yelled. "The ghost decided that it liked the earrings and stole them but Derek caught it in the act and it killed him."

Fillmore glanced at Ingrid with a raised eyebrow. "How many things did you find wrong with that statement?"

"Too many."

"So what do you think?"

"It seems suspicious."

"Wait didn't Mrs. Edwards say that they were inseparable? Then Lizbeth says that she hasn't seen him much lately…"

Ingrid raised her hand to her forehead as she always did when remembering something with her photographic memory. "Wait yesterday when we were talking to Roger I saw Lizbeth buying two tickets to prom. I also overheard her talking to her friend later about how she and Joe were going to match outfits."

"But that means that she's going to prom with someone else."

"I think we need to have a chat with Lizbeth about her quick recovery of a broken heart."

* * *

They found her near her locker in the hall.

"Hello officers, how can I help you?" Lizbeth asked.

"We need you to accompany us back to headquarters for questioning on your involvement in the murder of Derek Edwards." Ingrid moved to apprehend her.

"How bout I don't?" Lizbeth threw her locker door into Ingrid's face and turned and ran. Fillmore jumped over her dropped backpack and began the chase.

Ingrid luckily had been quick to block the door but was still having to hurry to catch up with Fillmore. Ingrid looked around and gestured to Fillmore to keep chasing Lizbeth while she took a shortcut.

Lizbeth pushed people behind her and jumped over the obstacles in her way. As if in a stroke of good favor to the girl, the bell rang expelling hundreds of students into the halls.

"Dawg." He muttered as he started pushing past people. Then he saw an empty cart just outside the home ec class and jumped on it steering it toward the running girl.

People jumped out of the way of the cart as Fillmore flew threw the halls. Ingrid cut through the automotive class coming out just outside the hall that Fillmore and Lizbeth were coming down. She watched as Fillmore expertly jumped off the cart tackling the girl and sending the cart right into a storage room. She winced hearing a loud crash but ignored it heading to help Fillmore with Lizbeth.

"You don't understand! Derek was supposed to be perfect. Everybody liked him. No one understood why I was unhappy. No one knew that he was cheating on me like a dog. He wasn't perfect, he just hid it well. I had to do it, for the sake of his reputation. If I was no longer dating him because he was dead, no one would have to worry about his reputation being ruined or mine when it came out that he was a cheater."

"Liz that is so wrong. You killed someone because they were stupid and you didn't want them to get a bad rep? There is no justification for it. He is dead now because of your actions and you are going to spend a long time behind bars." Fillmore said almost sad that she ruined both hers and Dereks lives for a stupid reason.

"Let's go contact the authorities." Ingrid said as she led the way back to HQ.

* * *

"So the ghost took control of Lizbeth and killed Derek to save Derek's reputation?" O'Ferrel asked the duo as they sat at their desks.

"No O'Ferrell, there was no ghost." Fillmore patiently explained.

"Fillmore, Third! You'd better get some formals. Fulsome wants you two at prom to ensure the safety. Without the belts." Vallejo yelled as he stepped out of his office. "And when you're done with that you're back on desk duty for destroying a whole storage room full of supplies."

"Relax Vallejo, we brought down a murder at X, we deserve some slack." Ingrid said as they headed out the door. "So Fillmore, pick me up at 7?"

"Sure see you then."

* * *

Fillmore and Ingrid stood off to one side of the dance floor. They had danced a few times and had managed to avoid O'Ferrell and his fasination with the dainty sandwiches that were on the snack table. Fillmore had been shocked when he picked up Ingrid to see that she wasn't wearing black to the prom. He was wearing a suit similar to the one he wore in Jonny Nevada's casino but more for his new build. Ingrid wore a dark purple dress that sparkled as she moved. Its form fitting shape and the added heels made Filmore rethink his association with his partner.

"So shall we go back out and dance some more or should we try and sneak out and go get some real food?" Ingrid asked.

"How bout we dance one more time then quietly slip out and make our way to somewhere I can at least make a dent in my appetitie?"

"You're on."

* * *

Fin


End file.
